I spent much of my life with a distorted view of what it meant to be a follower of Christ.

Here are a few of the things I believed that qualified me to be a follower of Christ:

Not drinking alcohol.

Not using curse words.

Not being friends with people who cussed, drank, smoked, or did drugs.

Being inside the church building as much as possible when the doors were open.

Inviting my friends to church services.

Name dropping Jesus as many times as humanly possible.

Being able to quote the "ABCs of Salvation."

Attempting to scare people into heaven.

Praying for my meals in public, and intentionally making it obvious what I was doing.

Going on a missions trip every few years.

Listening to only "Christian music".

Trying to straighten my friends up when they already knew they messed up.

Volunteering for programs at church, whether I was passionate about them or not.

Voting only for Republicans.

I had it all wrong.

Here's how Jesus sums up what it means to be follower of Christ:And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.This is the great and first commandment.And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets." ~Matthew 22:37-40

During these past couple of years, I've been judged by fellow believers numerous times. They've called me out on things I do, saying I am in the wrong and I need to turn from those "sins." I used the word sin in quotation marks, because the sins they mentioned were man-defined sins, not God-defined sins. Nowhere in the Bible could I find that I was in the wrong for those specific issues.

When being wrongly judge, one easy trap to fall into is judging your judges back. I was guilty of that. I can still fall into that trap when I'm not watching my steps. Under the rules of karma, return-judgement would be perfectly acceptable. Karma isn't the rule of the law. We live under the law of love.

I wrote an earlier post on "One-anothering." Before I began concentrating on this Biblical idea, the first few verses of Ephesians 4 use to be fly-over versus for me. Now, I'm finding that this is part of the meat which makes the church live as it was intended to.

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ~Epheisans 4:1-3

I'll be the first to say I don't do a very good job at this. As much as I try not to, I find myself condemning others and looking down at them. My human nature seeps out way too often.

I have a confession to make. I wouldn't have made this post if I hadn't read Reimagining Church by Frank Viola. He's not one hundred percent innocent himself. He blatantly stole much of the book from the Bible. I don't have anything witty to say in this post. I don't even have mach of a commentary.

Check out all the "one anothering" verses in the Bible. There are over one hundred verses in the New Testament directing us to do something with one another.

Here are just a few of those verses:

Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. ~Hebrews 13:1

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting each other, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching. ~Hebrews 10:24-25

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient with one another, bearing with one another in love. ~Ephesians 4:2

Greet one another with a holy kiss. ~2 Corinthians 13:12

Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. ~Ephesians 5:21

Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. ~1 Peter 4:19

Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. ~Romans 12:10

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. ~1 Thessalonians 5:11

Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you have a grievance against some one. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ~Colossians 3:13

Don't stop here, check the rest of them out!I just love the fact that the Bible tells us about ten times to greet one another with a kiss. ;)

How are you one anothering? Are you one anothering in church gatherings? Are you one anothering during church gatherings? If not, should you?

I have a difficult time making to a church service on Sunday nights. Fortunately, there's a gathering taking place on Saturday evenings at another location. I told somebody this. His response was "well, at least you get to go to church somewhere." It was said in a tone implying that what I was participating in was less spiritual.I've been told numerous times it's not wise to marry a woman outside a church denomination. I'm still trying to find that one in the Bible.

Most followers of Christ agree that their is one body. Most of the times, we don't act that way. We get around it by speaking our Christianese langauge. "There's one church, but we're just one body of it." "We need to fellowship with those who believe the same doctrine as us." We take pride in our denominations. We take pride in our non-denominations. We forget the fact that Christ built one church, and there is one body, and there is one faith. There's one head to this body, and that is Christ alone.

"...and on this rock, I will build my church" ~ Matthew 16:18

"There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. " ~Ephesians 4:3-6

I've found great joy in living out my faith and experiencing God with fellow believers outside the bubble I was raised in. If you haven't already, I encourage you to step outside your silly man-made walls, and see what God has to offer. Let's be the church Christ called us to be.

I've been attending church gatherings throughout the duration of my entire life. There are many things that I hear said that cause me to ask questions. The following statement is one: "I can feel a strong presence of the Lord in this place tonight."

Here are some issues I have with this statement:

Why does it matter if you can "feel" God's presence? If you can't feel His strong presence, does that mean it doesn't exist? Here's a fact I know: God is God, regardless of how I feel.

You mentioned that His presence is strong tonight. Is God not omnipotent? In the book of Job, Job said to God, "I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted."

What do you mean you can feel His presence in "this place?" Jesus promised us that when two or three gathered in His name, He would be there also. David asks God in Psalm 139, "Where can I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I feel from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there."

When this statement is made, people start believing some silly things. They believe they have to be at a specific place at a certain time to be in God's presence. They believe if they can't feel God's presence, He's not there. They believe they strength of God varies, depending on where they are. The opposite is true. If we believe God is omnipresent and omnipotent, we should speak and act like He is.

Can you go to church? Can you do church? Can you be a church? Which is it? Is it all of the above?

Can a church meet anywhere? A house? A park? McDonalds? How about a comedy club or even a bar?

What's the purpose of church? To get something from God? To give something to God? To give something to others? To bring your friends so they can hear the Gospel? To fellowship and grow with other believers?

How does a church define success?

What's the Bible say a church should be like? What was church like in the New Testament?